I find myself buying things online more and more. Even though it is easy to go to the store since I live in a major city, it is way easier to price match and search for a deal. Today I am doing  a quick round up of the best ways to save money when you shop online.

Coupon Codes

Download a coupon widget (my favorites are Honey and Wikibuy). When you get to whichever online shopping cart you’re using, a little box will pop up with all of the available coupon codes. Just click the pop up and it will test all the codes for you to see if you can save a little more. Way easier than jumping over to google search “[Joe Schmo Vendor] promo codes”.

Cash Back

A lot of major online retailers partner with Ebates and give them a kickback when they refer customers to the retailer’s site and make a purchase. They offer you (the customer) a portion of that kickback. It’s a great way to earn a little more off your purchase. At the end of the business quarter, Ebates writes you a check for the amount you’ve earned.

Wikibuy also partners with Ebates so when you test your cart for coupon codes via the widget, you also activate Ebates automatically. Make sure you sign up for Ebates first though to get the welcome gift card. If you sign up for Wikibuy first, they automatically sign you up for Ebates and you miss out on the gift card. Use my referral code for $10 when you sign up for Ebates.

EvoShare is another cash back site. Usually they don’t offer quite as high of a percentage
back as Ebates does. But they link to your retirement accounts which makes it a really easy way to put aside a little bit of cash. When the Evoshare widget pops up, it shows you how much money your purchase could become by the time you retire. You can adjust your settings to reflect your estimated retirement year. It’s a fun reminder for how to take advantage of compound interest and how every little bit counts!

Rebates

Ibotta is my favorite app for rebates. They have tons of stores and products. I usually take a quick look before I walk in any store to see if any of the items that I need are offering a rebate.

One of my favorite things about Ibotta is that you can use the app to redeem a coupon even if you’re also redeeming a paper coupon in store. Every once in awhile, I actually end up making money because the Ibotta coupon paired with the paper coupon equals more than the item!

Get $10 when you sign up using my Ibotta referral code.

Grocery Store Loyalty Card

You can also take advantage of grocery store coupons added to your loyalty card. Our local grocery store, Ralph’s (owned by Kroger), has an online coupon store. Before you shop, go online and see which products qualify. Select the deal and it gets added to your loyalty card. Basically, it adds extra savings to your purchases and, when you scan the bar code on your loyalty card, the coupons activate.

Ralph’s also posts special deals on their Facebook page. You just add the coupon to your loyalty card and when you check out, it activates the deal. A lot of times the deal is for a free item or some amount off your grocery bill.

For even more ways to save, check out my post on Price Matching!